Monday, May 21, 2012

05/21 (LeBron) Quickie

What I don't understand is pundits who tell me/us that I/we have to like LeBron.

Why can't I simultaneously appreciate that LeBron is jaw-droppingly awesome -- as he was yesterday afternoon -- yet still root against him?

Do these pundits also insist I root for the Yankees? How about Duke hoops? How about the Patriots?

The history of sports is loaded with examples of otherworldly players that we fans appreciate but are otherwise allowed to root against. LeBron is no different.

Meanwhile:

*Dwyane Wade: Nothing like a brilliant bounce-back game to implode the previous day's narrative. (Am I still allowed to root for the Pacers to win the series? No? That's OK: I'm fine watching the Heat get past Indy then get past the Celtics before being dismembered by the Spurs.)

*Spurs: Four, four. The West finals against OKC will be epic, but is it hard to envision the Spurs sweeping again? They probably won't, but at some point -- even if you don't like the Spurs or want to see them win yet another title in the NBA's Duncan Dynasty -- you kind of want them to go 16-0, simply because we haven't seen that.

*NHL: I don't think the Kings have much to worry about. The Devils, on the other hand, should be worried that they are out-playing the Rangers yet still stymied by Lundqvist. If you believe in process over outcome, it should eventually even out -- but (a) not in a short series and (b) not with Lundqvist playing out of his mind.

*Get more: A bunch of great Heat-related reads at Quickish this morning, along with an awesome longishread about the star of "Born to Run" (which was the focus of a Quickish tip from Outside.com last month, but is re-done by the New York Times in fine fashion today). Check it all out here.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.